Wednesday afternoon, a two-star Ohio high school recruit told OSU coach Jim Tressel thanks, but no thanks, in part because the Buckeyes were late to the party.

Though OSU coaches had been telling Kettering Alter quarterback Austin Boucher that he was their backup plan if five-star quarterback recruit Tajh Boyd turned them down, their official scholarship offer Tuesday came after Boucher had given an oral commitment to Miami (Ohio).

After thinking it over for a night, Boucher decided to stick with his original plan to play for the RedHawks with his twin brother, Collin.

"He was totally understanding," Boucher said of Tressel. "He's an awesome coach. In this type of situation he definitely understood."

His rejection leaves Ohio State with only Terrelle Pryor and Joe Bauserman as scholarship quarterbacks and with no quarterback in a 2009 recruiting class that currently stands at 24 players with National Signing Day six days away.

Boucher said if Ohio State's offer had come before his pledge to Miami, he at least would have taken an official visit to Ohio State, but that may not have made a difference.

"You can always ask what if," Boucher said. "But I already knew what I was going to get myself into there. I don't think Ohio State had to sell me on their program at all."

With Pryor holding down the quarterback job in Columbus for at least the next two seasons, the greater chance to play at Miami was perhaps the deciding factor.

"That is huge," Boucher said. "They've got Pryor and I know Tress is already looking at some 2010 quarterbacks. There's always going to be competition, but I want to be the No. 1 guy. I was [Miami's] No. 1 recruit, where at OSU I'm not Terrelle Pryor."

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